BACK TO CALENDAR 2000

 

Sept 25                                    Monday

Favée to Genelard (Canal du Centre)

Rain during night, overcast cool in morning, but soon cheered up into sunny warm day.

Booked to start 10.00. L.K. arrive at 09.55 to suggest that we should wait a "little half hour" for another boat.

Hated idea, and elicited vague information that the boat was plastic. Stated that never should plastic and iron go in a lock to-gether - and so off we were sent on our own through the automatic locks! Don’t believe the boat existed - L.K. just wanted us to sit about in the vague hope another boat would arrive with whom he could pair us - thus halving his work load.

Gently through countryside, day’s run most enjoyable - land still ridiculously green, and still very English, with hedges around small fields and paddocks. Only things French are the cattle - Charrolais - and, of course, the buildings.

Through Montceau-les-Mines - an ex-mining town that impressed us very much last year with it’s cleanliness and liveliness, in spite of closure and abandonment of it’s coal mine. - We spent the night then in the P. de P. - our first P. de P.!

The mine buildings now look pretty tatty, and a bit of window breaking vandalising has occurred.

The P. de P. was totally empty - but very neat and tidy. Imagine this is only due to the season - there are practically no boats moving, and although the P. de P. is relatively noisy being right in the centre of town, it is secure and comfortable.

When we came onto this canal at Chalon-sur-Saône we heard a vague rumour that there was a water shortage - difficult to believe after the summer we have had, and paid no attention. Most L.K.s knew nothing about it.

Apparently, however, it is true, and we were shown an official letter to be posted up on the window of the L.K.’s office in Montceau to say that single boats must wait 4 hours to pair up, and that the canal will be closed on Monday 2nd Oct until enough rain has fallen to fill feed resevoir. Nobody ever reads the letters stuck up on L.K.’s windows as they stay there for a minimum of 3 years, and invariably are totally irrelevant to present day affairs, so this was a singularly feeble attempt to let the boating public know something really quite important. Wonder if it is true, or do they just want to send all staff off on holiday?

Most of the L.K.s on the ground deny all knowledge of these restrictions and this closure, it has not been publicised in any way at all, so people coming back to Roanne from the south in the middle of Oct (this is their only route and there are quite a few of them - people, not routes) will just find the canal closed - quite extraordinary. Even more so, when one remembers that we have been allowed to move solo since we left Challon.

On our way into Montceau we passed a le Klerk S.M. right on canal side, and was tempted to buy diesel, but we were full last Monday, and it will probably be easier to fill using the car at Roanne.

Tied up at the railings was Ebernezer, a large and very beautiful Dutch cruiser that was moored next to us at Roanne last winter. They had spent the summer "on the Med". They also, are on their way "home" to Roanne.

Much jollity, friendliness, etc, and we shared next lock with them - felt like sharing with the Queen Mary. However, they were sleeping over at Montceau - being so large, they have to plan their trips properly to the minute

At the first lock out of Montceau the restrictions suddenly became real, and we were held up for 30 minutes to await the arrival of another boat. Was this the plastic one we turned our noses up at this morning?

Round the corner chugged Desio - André and Dymphna - old Roanne hands whom we got to know quite well last winter, and who, like us, are heading back for this winter! These are the people who wrote a laudatory article in a Dutch boating magazine that has resulted in people flocking to Roanne, so that it is over full!

Hand shakes and kisses all round.

Paired up very happily with them for the rest of the run to Genelard - pairing up with total strangers can be traumatic, especially if they do not know the form! However, this will be O.K., and we will probably be in Digoin to-morrow or early the next day. Anyway, we are told that we have to stay to-gether now till we leave the Canal du Centre - or wait 4 hours for another boat!

Quite nice village P. de P. at Genelard - grass, water, lekistry, etc, but some idiot - suspect cruiser next door doing engine things - had blown the lekistry.

Although we are short of electric storage, we can, and usually do, manage perfectly well without shore elek, and having mains is a luxury.

 

Sept 26                                         Tuesday

Genelade to half way between Paray la Moniale and Digoin. Canal du Centre).

Herself for bread before we started, but it turned into a shopping spree.

On with Desio, travelling L.K.s continuously changing, until 13.30 when we announced very firmly that we were stopping for lunch. Desio and L.K. continued solo.

Countryside still very Scots/English, paddocks, rough grazing, but all cattle Charolais.

Arranged for continuing on to be at 1500, but in fact no one turned up until 1545, when a single enormous Irish boat turned up complete with attendant L.K.

Tagged on, and held them up at every lock - they had 2 engines, and went very fast, we had 1, and went at our speed!

Only shared until just past Paray-la-Moniale, where the locks on the Canal du Centre end.

We wanted to stop, so stopped! They went on to Digoin.

Deep water, short grassed mooring just below the lock, but a bit dark from overshadowing trees.

Rain in night.

 

Sept 27                                         Wednesday

half way between Paray la Moniale and Digoin. (Canal du Centre) to la Croix Rouge, (Canal de Roanne à Digoin)

Relaxed start - no time keeping or appointments to be kept.

Wandered into Digoin at about mid-day, moored up, and went for Birthday Lunch near Intermarché - rather ordinary area of town, but nice neat restaurant, and unlike the one we’d been reccomended to (3 Chimney Logis) affordable.

Bromptonned round Digoin - always previously had to plod around in heat.

Posted I.T. letter, then off again, very gentle out of Digoin, down deep lock at end of Canal de Centre, round corner, and into Canal de Roanne a Digoin.

Sad - the end of ad 2000 is very near!

Headed for mooring we thought we knew well, and was good, but we didn’t and it wasn’t! "4 poplars" mooring in book close to disaster - shallow, traffic noisy, and this time had a strange blue Dutch boat occupying it.

View and evening good.

 

Sept 28                                         Thursday

la Croix Rouge to Artaix, (Canal de Roanne à Digoin)

Countryside as beautiful round here as described last year.

Kept very quiet in morning, and strange Dutch boat pushed off - didn’t fancy being paired through the locks.

Weather fine, but fierce wind rose during day, hence one or 2 lock entries - when complicated by by-washes - were interesting.

All L.K.s on this canal appear to know us - as indeed we know them.

Spent a lot of trip checking stopping and mooring places along canalside. Our knowledge of good stopping places, considering this is the 5th time we have passed along this canal, is poor - but then so are the stopping places, and the Navicarte is arrant rubbish.

Washed clothes and cleaned brasses, but not suitable mooring, or suitable weather, for the full scale boat clean we would like to have done before arriving in Roanne.

 

Sept 29                                         Friday

Artaix to Roanne. (Canal de Roanne à Digoin)

Heavy rain all night, and all day without let-up. Probably the worst day on this trip.

Fortunately very little wind. and put sun brolley up. Splendidly kept the worst off.

3 days ago the engine/transmission stopped making the mild creaking clattery noise it has made for the last 2 years, and which we have traced to the actual propeller cavitating and thrashing in the water.

The cessation has happened before for short periods of time, but has usually reverted when entering or leaving a lock, and resulted from weed being on prop, and has been parallel with loss of push. This time there did not appear to be any loss of efficiency, and the silence was blissful.

However, a power stop at Brienon to buy bread at 11.59 a.m. must have dislodged the insignificant amount of well tied weed, and the noise re-started - although still much reduced.

Must go down weed hatch and have a look - shouldn’t be difficult to replace weed with something more permanent - but when trying on previous occasions have always got it wrong - and it is very tedious experimenting - stop boat, moor boat. stop engine, through weed hatch, tie bits to propeller whilst head down in weed hatch, replace weed hatch, start engine, unmoor, set off again, and find it doesn’t make any difference or that the prop is so muffled the boat stays still.

Arrived in Roanne at about 15.30, to find basin pretty full. "Our" mooring by the loo very firmly occupied by string of large American Dutch Barges nose to tail, all with E.D.F. and telephones connected. i.e. immovable.

Got "lad" from Capitainery over - Jacky, the boss, off sick - and although

tried to be helpful, suggested - slightly stupidly - a finger mooring further up - all 5 metres of it.

Put into short 3 boat stretch of jetty that we know "belongs" to at least 4 boats still to come - equally foolish action, so we’ll make a plan to-morrow a.m.

Certainly not prepared to forgo mooring for which we paid last year, nor be involved with other boats being messed about! We’ll see.

Rain continued throughout afternoon, but managed quick Brompton to Casino S.M. and drink and story telling with George and Maggie of Lymie who went down the Rhone to the Middi for the summer.

 

Sept 30                                         Saturday

In Roanne.

Moved mooring back to empty space nearer lock.

Tied up nicely, complete with springs, fenders, electricity, etc.

Had got muddled - boat wrong way round.

Unmoored, turned boat, re-moored.

Went to fill water - no water point at this mooring.

Unmoored, went 100 metres up the quai, and re-moored, electric, fenders, springs and everything.

Fine, and could be a reasonable mooring - we’ll see.

 

Very much afraid this is IT - Adventure 2000 is over.